Advances in science and technology have dramatically changed human life, providing convenience and abundance, but they have also led to negative consequences, such as environmental degradation and weapons development. The line between good and bad is blurred, and its value depends on the intentions of its users.
Science has been evolving ever since humans have been living on Earth, from the development of primitive tools to today’s advanced technologies. Especially since the 1900s, pure science and engineering have made remarkable advances, which have transformed human life through the Industrial Revolution and the Information Age. While the development of science and technology has brought great convenience to people’s lives, it has also brought negative consequences, such as the destruction of the Earth’s environment and the development of weapons of mass destruction. Some people say that the world will soon return to the Stone Age. So, is science and technology beneficial to humans?
For example, after scientist Otto Hahn first discovered the process of nuclear fission in 1939 during the outbreak of World War II, Enrico Fermi succeeded in starting up the first nuclear reactor in the United States, called the Chicago Pile, which was the beginning of the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons. After World War II, scientists were able to harness nuclear fission to provide people with an unlimited supply of energy, but the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, respectively, killed many people and started the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Many of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project later regretted that their advances in science had cost people their lives and rethought the benefits of science and technology.
The original mission of science and technology is to learn and master the laws of nature so that we can benefit humanity at large, but the line between benefit and harm is very blurry, and its value can change for good or evil depending on the intentions of the user. As such, there are always two sides to every technological advancement. While many people focus on the negative aspects of technology and criticize it, they may be forgetting the great value it brings to human society on a fundamental level. For example, many of the conveniences and affluence we enjoy today would not be possible without science and technology. Refrigerators, electronics, medical devices, and other everyday objects are all products of science and technology.
In my opinion, without science and technology, human society would not have survived to the present day. For example, take medical technology, which has come a long way since penicillin. One of the arguments that naysayers make about this is that the development of multiple antibiotics has caused bacteria to become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, and eventually superbugs will threaten us. However, humans and disease have always been in a state of equilibrium, and even if resistant bacteria were to develop, the outcome would be the same as it was before antibiotics were invented. Most importantly, the fight against disease has made humanity stronger, allowing our population to grow and take the top spot on the planet, which would not have been possible without science and technology.
A big reason why science and technology are negative for humanity is because the people who use them abuse them. Humans have inherent desires, and they use science and technology as tools to fulfill those desires. In the case of nuclear weapons, nations have used them to gain more power by beating each other to the punch. Environmental destruction is also a result of the quest for more resources. But have these side effects had as much of a negative impact on human society as the misery caused by human greed in the caveman and medieval periods? Even in primitive times, human greed caused tribes to invade, kill, and enslave each other in order to gain greater power and resources. In the Middle Ages, the majority of people were forced to spend their lives as serfs for the benefit of a few nobles and lords. If you could choose, which life would you say was happier, the past or the present?
Science and technology are invaluable in many areas of our existence, in our struggle against nature, and in our security. The things we take for granted today – healthcare, communications, transportation, food production – are all achievements of science and technology. I think people should be wary of focusing only on the negative aspects of science and technology, which are secondary, collateral damage, and should not be exaggerated. Science and technology have changed our lives for the better, and they are essential for human progress. It is my conviction that we must continue to advance science and technology for the sake of us and our descendants.
